Disclaimer: I don't own F-Zero GP Legend; it belongs to Nintendo, 4Kids, TVTokyo, etc. I just happen to be a fan.

This is a series of flashfics and crossovers involving the original character, Tinsel Steelus. Her friends have suddenly vanished and its up to her to find them, and put an end to it all.

It was a typical Sunday spring morning and Tinsel was piloting her machine, known as the Silver Comet. It was a vehicle that was created by Dr. Clash as she enrolled in the first F-Zero Grand Prix several years ago. It lights up like a comet and it leaves a "tail" behind as it reaches top speed. It also has a weapon, a built-in ice beam to freeze her enemies. Dr. Clash said it was one of his prototypes in creating these magnificent machines, since none of the others didn't have any of these weapons.

She just stopped by at Burt's diner, the Falcon House, for her breakfast and she was talking to a young hacker named Clank Hughes. She greeted them. "Hey, guys. Just came to pick up some breakfast before I do my usual duties in the Task Force." She stretched to loosen her muscles. "So, how're they doin'? I bet they couldn't wait to see me. I've made some new friends over the past few weeks..."

Burt and Clank had some glum looks when she mentioned her companions.

"What's wrong...?"

Burt answered, "We haven't seen the Task Force anywhere for the past couple weeks. They've never given us any contact, nor have they returned to their headquarters. And according to Clank, their connections have been missing... Tinsel...I'm worried."

Her heart skipped a beat and she thought about Black Shadow and his minions. What if he got 'em? Will they be beyond saving? How come they never found me? Suddenly, she had a flashback when he met Black Shadow for the first time.

It was back at Lightning. The planet's name said it all because the weather always had scattered lightning zigzagging across the sky, but strangely there was no rain. A power plant was destroyed which generated power throughout the planet using its electricity as energy. Everything was dark and the only thing she saw was coming from the nasty lightning bolts.

She watched as Black Shadow met Captain Falcon as he planned to steal the prize after he wins the Grand Prix. "I would assassinate anyone who stands between me and the prize. Simple as that!"

His hands shot out and he got Falcon caught in his energy binds. Then in a flash of light his clone, Blood Falcon, came out and put a speed-sensitive bomb on top of the Blue Falcon. Hoping to dismantle it she jumped into her machine and took off at the speed of light. Her friends, Yugi and Joey, were right on her tail. Joey flew ahead on his Red-Eyes Black Dragon, while Yugi was riding his Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Joey pursued the bomb as his dragon tried to land on the bomb and lift it off. However its talons kept slipping as the Falcon boosted and made sharp turns on the track. There was also numerous obstacles laying around including a few dirt roads. Eventually, he came to an unfinished road as he crashed through a sign that said "Under Construction." He went over a gap and saw a hook hanging from a huge crane. At first the Blue Falcon soared too low but Joey's Red-Eyes lifted it and the hook knocked off the bomb as it exploded in the water below. They made it to the other side and Yugi's Blue-Eyes and the Silver Comet trailed along.

Her flashback ended but her mind was still preoccupied with thoughts about Black Shadow's existence. "How can he still be alive after all these years..!" she whispered to nothing but thin air. "Didn't Deathborn kill him earlier? Maybe after Deathborn died, he magically came back to life! How could that be...?"

Clank and Burt grew suspicious on her rambling. What did she know about Deathborn and Black Shadow that they didn't? Clearly, she was trying to hide something, but the secret just kept peeking itself out, bothering her.

She heard some noise-something familiar. Suddenly, she pulled herself back to reality, realizing Clank called out to her. "Tinsel! Are you alright?"

"Oh...yeah. Everything's fine..." She took a deep breath to regain her composure. "I think I should go and visit headquarters just to see what's up."

"I'll go with you!" he said.

"No, you cannot. I don't want yourself to walk into an ambush. It's best if you stay here."

"Awww, geez." he moaned.

"What do ya say, Burt? Maybe if I find Rick, I'll bring him back for ya."

"I'd like that. Very much." he said.

"Alright. I'll investigate the place..." Her stomach started to growl. Embarrassed, she said, "...just as soon as I grab something to eat. I can't go on an empty stomach, ya know." She had a plate with two scrambled eggs, a pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese and scallions, and a glass of orange juice. She ate heartedly and in a half hour, she said goodbye and was off to the Task Force's turf.


Tinsel found a tall 30-story building at the heart of Mute City. It was the headquarters of the Elite Mobile Task Force. She remembered the first time she met Rick Wheeler, and grown fond with him ever since. They've been close allies for the past year. She was, however, least fond of Jack Levin. She heard he used to be a member of a rock band before he became an F-Zero pilot. But it was because of his arrogant nature that kept her at bay. She also liked Lucy Liberty, who was the newest and youngest recruit after her. They've been through a lot and they became close companions. Then there was Mr. EAD, an android who was betrothed to the famous black singer, Kate Alen. She still couldn't believe that an android could fall in love with a human being. She remembered Jody Summer, the leader of the Task Force, and John Tanaka. Tinsel didn't forget the time she saw them saved by Captain Falcon before the power plant in Lightning exploded, thanks to Black Shadow. And, of course, there was Dr. Stewart, the medical genius that saved countless lives during the Grand Finale in the first F-Zero Grand Prix. It had been suspended for four years, as far as Tinsel knew; she didn't participate because she was still traumatized about her failure back in White Land:

It was during the Queen League and she was nearing the end of the big race. The last course was White Land where there was a monstrous blizzard and very treacherous roads. She could barely see the other racers as the snow blew haphazardly across her windshield, so she let them pass her. After a millisecond she was in the back of the pack. There were so many turns that the Silver Comet slowed down so it wouldn't crash into the guardrails. When it did, its power would decrease, making it more vulnerable to burn out and explode. At the corner of the course was a huge gap, almost 50 feet long. She didn't gain enough speed, so she backed up and went full throttle on the jump. She tried to follow the other racers, whom all made it to the other side. Somehow, she wasn't able to. She and the Comet started to fall and the machine was devastated. She didn't remember much after that, except she had hypothermia from the blizzard as she was taken on a stretcher and airlifted to a hospital. Despite the accident, the race was still on, until it finished. Of course, it was Captain Falcon who emerged victorious. She woke up at an intense heat wrap in a white, empty room and the nurses told her about the accident and her loss in the race. She couldn't get her failure out of her mind; in fact, when she got better, she decided to hide her machine in a garage in Mute City. It was never used again until the GX Grand Prix thirteen years later. She was lucky she was able to have it back and she hoped that one day, she will overcome her fears and make it over that gap.

She went up to the front door and slipped her license into the slot. It buzzed and spoke, "Tinsel Steelus. Access granted." The doors parted allowing her to walk through. Normally there would be a lobbyist waiting for her; however, there was none. The room was abnormally quiet and dark. All she saw was papers being blown in the wind. It looked like the place had been deserted. It was quite an eerie sight, but she continued to walk until she reached the floor where she would usually meet her friends.

Even they didn't show up. She began calling their names, but there was no response. It was so empty that her echoes ricocheted off the walls. "Rick...Jack...Lucy..."

She accidentally knocked a wheeled chair over as she was looking. "Jody...Dr. Clash...Dr. Clash, is this a joke?" She always loved his humor which cheered her up in the most dire situations. She walked down a narrow hallway and found Jack's room. Clothes were thrown all over the place and posters of various rock bands hung on the walls. "Jack...Jack..." She looked on his bed. Usually Jack was a heavy sleeper and she wanted to wake him up. "Jack? Are you awake...?" As she moved the covers off, he wasn't there.

She checked the doctor's office but Dr. Stewart was nowhere to be found. She even looked in the garage. Dr. Clash and Lucy were gone, including all of the machines the Task Force had. There were no notes or anything posted in the building. She at least had to find something so she would know where they were. Then she remembered what Burt had said and the words kept repeating in her mind: "They haven't been here in a couple weeks...Their connections were missing...Tinsel, I'm worried."

On her last effort on looking for at least a piece of paper to explain their whereabouts, she found a humongous white tube and a syringe dripping white, translucent fluid. She looked close at the syringe secreting the fluid. She wiped it with a nearby paper towel and had an idea. She will bring it to Dr. Stewart's son, Rodney, so he can examine it for her. His medical facility was in the outskirts of Mute City; he was also a prodigy who had knowledge passed down by his dad and his grandpa, Kevin.

She put the syringe in her pocket and found a piece of paper with thick layers of dust on it. Poof! It flew off as she blew on it. It revealed a list of races that the Task Force should be participating in. Tinsel decided to get involved in favor of their absence. She headed back to her Silver Comet, looking closely at the schedule. The first race was next week at 10:00 am at the planet, Tortiz 3. Green Plant was smack dab there.

She hadn't been there since she was in the hovercraft races, so she thought, Hm. Maybe I'll ask Burt and Clank for directions...And maybe I'll photocopy the schedule of the races so he could keep track of them. He'll probably let me know if he sees Rick, because when it comes to him he's always the top dog!

She smiled at the thought and she cruised to her house at a nearby apartment complex where she made copies of the schedule. It still worked even with little specks of dust on the paper.


Finally she went back to the diner and gave Burt the schedule. "Thanks, Tinsel. I'll keep a close watch on Rick and his buddies. Good luck on the race next week."

"Thanks, Burt."

"If you need any adjustments on your Comet, let me know."

"Sure thing, Clank. I'll be training in the old course if you need me." The old course was a great run for the Silver Comet. It was the first course made in Mute City; there were no loops, just a few curves and a bump that made the machine jump. She timed herself on each lap and every one was faster and easier than the last. There weren't any hiding spots but somehow Miss Killer was watching Tinsel race without her noticing.

A/N: The Silver Comet was my inspiration of Hailey's Comet. Like the comet I was thinking of a name several years ago for my character, so I thought that Tinsel would be good. Like a comet, its visible from its radiance and so is the tinsel on a Christmas Tree. As for Steelus, when I was leaving high school on a bus, I heard a boy said "steel uss." But it was actually an accent meaning Steelers as in the Pittsburg Steelers. And a little info about the Comet; the settings are CAB. It has moderate body strength, an excellent boost, and a nice firm grip as it turns.

I first became interested in the anime after my brothers found it. It was after I played F-Zero GX back in the summer of '04. When I found out it's been cancelled I was disappointed, since it only had 15 out of 51 episodes made in the US alone. That was when I thought about Tinsel looking for her friends in the Task Force, who have suddenly disappeared without a trace. I've been thinking about that incident for years. And now I'm writing it! They'll be more just as soon as I get my scenarios together. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Comments are welcome.